Of Moles and Misunderstandings
by The Silver Huntress321
Summary: "That couldn't have been good." "With all this talk of moles, no it couldn't." / In which Robin gains the suspicion of the team, the evidence is hard to ignore. Secret, late-at-night meetings, lies, and general mistrust ensues. What is Robin talking to Talia al Ghul about? Pairings: none, really. Maybe Supermartian.


_Hey fanfiction, what's up? So I found a prompt on YJ Anon Meme, and thought it'd be a lot of fun to write, so here it is._

 _Prompt: Basically Robin and Talia are overheard while talking in code._

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ _I don't own Young Justice._

* * *

 _Of Moles and Misunderstandings_

* * *

It was late at night and all of the lights were out as the teenager silently made his way to the back entrance, where he knew his visitor would be waiting. He quickly glanced over his shoulder, to ensure that he hadn't been followed, before slipping outside. There she stood, smiling in wait, green eyes glinting in the moonlight.

Meanwhile, Conner had heard the footsteps as Robin had gone outside, and yet now the boy remained in one place, accompanied by another person. He stepped out of his room and made his way toward the heartbeats. A few minutes later, he found himself peering out as he observed his friend and the strange woman outside.

Using his mind, he reached out to M'Gann, knowing that she'd sense his attempt. Sure enough, her tired voice responded almost instantly. _What is it, Superboy?_

 _Robin,_ responded the clone. _He's meeting with someone at the back entrance, but I don't know who she is._

There was a moment's pause before the Martian said anything. _Wait there, I'm on my way._ He found himself distracted as suddenly Robin started talking.

"What's the status of the package?"

The words penetrated the dark stillness. The woman didn't hesitate in response. "Transport is being looked into. The package should arrive within months, a year at most. The boss is anxious to be rid of it."

M'Gann arrived then, silent as she settled in next to Conner. The two watched continued to watch the exchange. "We're ready for it; the necessary precautions have been taken."

"Good. The package will be safe under your care, I assume?" The red-haired Martian tapped on Conner's shoulder, eyes wide. _I think that's Talia al Ghul!_

The clone frowned. _Why would Robin be talking to Ra's al Ghul's daughter about some 'package'?_ Even as he sent out the thought, his mind whispered that he knew _exactly_ why his teammate might be talking with the villainess.

"Of course." Said their youngest member. "Preparations have been made; we are simply awaiting arrival. Batman won't suspect a thing."

Talia al Ghul nodded thoughtfully. "Well, then, that will be all. You will be alerted with the time of our next meeting."

Robin nodded, smiling. "See you next time then. Do keep me…"

Superboy glared as M'Gann flew them to the training room, protest already on his lips. The girl frowned, hastily shushing him. _They were almost done; Robin would have caught us had we stayed much longer._ His glare dimmed as he realized the accuracy of her words. It was impressive that they'd managed to stay as long as they had without drawing his attention as it was - no need to push the envelope.

They waited for what seemed like hours, but in reality were only minutes. Finally, Conner was able to confirm that the Boy Wonder was back in his room and Talia al Ghul had left the area. Silence screamed at them for another moment before M'Gann spoke.

"That…" she sighed, looking away. "That couldn't have been good."

He didn't want to admit that she was right, that a teammate meeting with an established enemy in the darkness of night was nothing short of suspicious. Robin was his friend, his brother. Robin was the boy that had helped aid his escape. Robin was one of the few he trusted wholeheartedly. Except for now. "With all this talk of moles, no it couldn't."

M'Gann's eyes filled with sadness. She didn't want to believe it either. Of course, she didn't want to believe that any of them could be a mole, but there was something even worse about it being _Robin_. If the member that had been fighting crime the longest could be turned… it was a scary thought. Plus he was her _little brother_. He had helped her with her cooking and baking, comforted her when she was upset, cheered her up when she needed it. He couldn't be a traitor. He just couldn't. But still…

"We need to tell the team." Even as she said it, she hated herself for it. No matter how true it was. "If there's any possibility of – well, they need to know."

* * *

As it turned out, it didn't take long for the opportunity to arise.

"Are you certain?" Kaldur said, frowning. "We could postpone the outing, in order for you to be able to attend."

The raven-haired boy shook his head. "Nah, no need. It's not like it's the only time we'll go out for pizza or anything. I'll just go next time." Robin had opted out of the outing, due to crime stuff with Batman. M'Gann and Conner begged to differ, but said nothing, simply sharing a doubtful glance. It had, after all, been a fair amount of time since the meeting they'd observed. "I'll talk to guys later, got to run!"

 _Recognized Robin B01_

"Well, what are we waiting for, let's get pizza." Artemis said, rolling her eyes. Murmurs of agreement were heard as they all prepared to leave. M'Gann and Conner shared a look, agreeing silently that this would be their best chance to tell the rest of the team of what they'd overheard several nights ago.

The group all gathered around the Bioship. They were wearing normal clothing, having taken care in order to not draw attention while in public. Seeing as they weren't going far, the trip didn't take long and soon enough they had lowered the camouflaged aircraft a few blocks away from their intended destination, deciding to walk the remaining blocks to the pizza place.

"So," said Wally. "What kind of pizzas do you guys want? I'm up for anything."

M'Gann frowned, she hadn't exactly thought about it. She'd been too caught up in how to approach the incident with Robin. "Um, the only pizza I've ever tried was cheese once at school… but I'm willing to try others, too." Next to her, Superboy nodded, grateful that he didn't need to speak.

"Yes," Aqualad agreed pleasantly. "I am quite willing to try whatever you might have in mind, my friend." Artemis and Wally shrugged, before making their way up to the counter to order, bickering the whole time. Superboy was content to wait for them, not quite wanting to even think about it, let alone say it out loud, but M'Gann saw her chance and took it.

"Kaldur," she whispered, not making eye contact. She didn't want to think about it either, but it had to be dealt with. For a fleeting moment, she dared to hope that he hadn't heard her. Unfortunately, it was only a moment later that she felt his silver gaze fall upon her.

"Yes, M'Gann?" His words were gentle; he seemed to understand that whatever was wrong, it was really bothering her. "What is troubling you?"

The Martian almost wrote it off. She almost smiled and told him that it was nothing, that it was silly, that she'd forgotten what it was, something, _anything_. Except she didn't. She took a deep breath and forced the words out. "Do you remember how Sportsmaster told you that… that we might have a mole?" Her voice faltered on her last word.

The Atlantean nodded, intensity settling on his features. "There is no need to worry, M'Gann. You are not under suspicion any longer – we have decided that there is no mole."

This was her chance. Her chance to laugh and agree. To forget what she'd seen, forget what she'd heard. She didn't take it, knowing she'd regret it if she did. "Except…" she steeled herself, taking a deep breath. "I think there might be."

Kaldur sat up immediately, alarm clear on his face. "What would lead you to believe such a thing?" He was studying her, analyzing her every move. She bit her lip, once again refusing to meet his intense gaze.

"I… well, Superboy and I… we, um, might have seen something." The Atlantean turned to Conner, frowning. Unlike M'Gann, the clone faced him, meeting his eyes determinedly.

He nodded. "She's right. A little over a week ago, we found one of the others having a secret meeting. With Talia al Ghul."

If Aqualad hadn't been concerned before, he was now. "Ra's al Ghul's daughter?" When the pair nodded, he sighed. "This _is_ concerning. Why did you wait so long before informing me? Who was taking part in the meeting?"

The answers died off of the redhead's lips as the other two members of their party returned, still bickering. After a moment, Artemis noticed the awkward silence and broke off of what she was saying. "What happened while we were gone? Why do you guys look like every villain just broke out of Arkham?" Wally frowned, examining the group before nodding thoughtfully.

"She's right – which I hate to admit – you guys do look pretty freaked about something." Kaldur paused, attempting to decide the best course of action. Apparently, he had taken a few moments too long, because another started speaking.

"We think there might be a mole," said M'Gann softly. She frowned. "No, we're pretty _sure_ that there _is_ a mole."

Artemis groaned. "Not _this_ again. Really, M'Gann? You too? We just got Red off our back and now you're on about this now? Who do you suspect, anyway?"

She fell silent, having reached her limit. It pained her to believe that any one of them could be a traitor, not to mention suspecting a specific member. Conner seemed to notice how upset she was, because he answered for her. "Robin."

The reactions varied. Artemis's eyebrows shot up, shock lighting up her features. Kaldur's eyes widened and he fell silent, appearing to process this new possibility. Wally had the worst reaction. He froze, before glaring venomously at the two.

"No." His voice was firm, a scowl dominating his expression. "No. You guys can suspect each other all you want. Robin's been through far too much to be suspected by his teammates, his own _friends_." His glare dared anyone to disagree.

Aqualad frowned. "Did you say he was meeting with Talia al Ghul?" Another round of surprise as Superboy nodded firmly.

Before anyone could say anything, they felt the mind link go up and then they were _there_. They saw everything. They heard everything. When it was over, silence fell. Artemis risked a glance at Wally. His eyes were sad, but even he couldn't deny the evidence. The rest of the afternoon was spent in nearly complete silence, only broken every once in a while. None wanted to face the very real possibility of there not just being a mole, but of _Robin_ being that mole. It was unbelievable, and yet everything pointed to that being the answer.

* * *

That night, they found themselves having made a unanimous decision to all stay at the cave. This had to be discussed. So there they found themselves, gathered in the living room. Still, no one said anything. They still carried the hope of it being untrue.

 _Recognized Robin B01_

Their eyes widened and some of them jumped. Footsteps made their way toward them and there he was. He frowned, scanning them.

"I take it pizza was a bust?" He laughed, grinning at them. "What happened, did KF eat it all or something?" Silence. "Okay… are you guys alright? I mean, Wally, you didn't even react to me insulting you." The speedster found himself unable to look at his friend, instead staring intently at the ground. "You guys are kind of freaking me out here, are you okay?"

Finally, Aqualad forced himself to look at the boy. "We are merely tired, but we will be fine in the morning. After we had eaten, we decided to return and spar. We finished perhaps thirty minutes ago."

"Yeah," said Artemis. "Wally's just upset 'cause I kicked his butt. He'll get over it."

Their resident Martian couldn't take it anymore. She stood up, said a quick good night, and fled to the safety of her room. Robin frowned. They were keeping something from him. What would they possibly feel the need to keep from him? He was about to press it further before recalling his mountain of secrets and deciding to let it go. If it started affecting missions, he'd look into it. Until then, they should be allowed their own secret.

"Okay, well, Bats will be waiting for me at the Batcave. We had a rough night; Talia al Ghul tried to stir some trouble for her dad or something. Night, guys." His teammates stiffened and reluctant replies were his response, but he forced himself to ignore it. Instead he left through the zeta beam.

 _Recognized Robin B01_

Slowly, they all dispersed to their respective rooms. Not that it mattered, since none of them got any sleep either way. Their minds were all wrapped around the idea of Robin being a mole. It wasn't a happy thought, but one that had to be considered.

* * *

Black Canary was the first member of the League to notice. It happened when they were training. She could see that the members were a little more reckless in their matches. The only one who seemed to be unaffected was Robin, who was performing excellently. Once Miss Martian and Aqualad had begun, she gestured for the Boy Wonder to follow her out of the room. Upon arrival in the kitchen, she fixed her gaze on him.

"What's going on with the others?"

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. Clearly the state of his teammates was worrying him. "I have no idea. They just all started being really… weird after they went out for pizza the other day. It was the strangest thing; they were fine before they left, but later that night they would hardly even look at me."

"I'm guessing that you didn't go for pizza with them?" she frowned. It was unlike the teen to miss hanging out with his friends – as far as she knew, Batman hadn't been doing much of importance.

She didn't miss his hesitation before he replied. "I was busy. Schoolwork, studying, the likes. I think I'm just going to leave them to their secret unless it affects missions. I mean, I have plenty of my own, so it'd be downright hypocritical to do otherwise. I'm going to check on Miss M and Kal, see who's winning." She also didn't miss the way his words came out feeling a bit rushed, but ended up dismissing it. After all, the kid did love training.

The pair returned just in time to see M'Gann finish Kaldur off. Usually, Wally would have sprung upwards, grinning and spouting congratulatory words. Artemis would smile and tell Wally to knock it off. Conner would smirk proudly. Kaldur would accept defeat humbly, happy to see a fellow teammate succeed. Nobody reacted, except for Robin who laughed and made a cheerful joke. Nobody else laughed and his happiness faltered. Sighing, he plopped down on the floor, not missing as his friends edged a bit further away from him.

Black Canary instructed Kid Flash and Superboy to fight, before taking M'Gann to the kitchen, much like she had with Robin. "What's going on with this team?"

The Martian sighed unhappily. She hesitated for a few moments, before the words had come tumbling out, almost of their own accord. "There's a mole."

The blonde woman leaned forward, eyebrows furrowed. "I thought you all agreed that was nonsense?"

"We did… but then we found proof," the girl trailed off.

Dinah took a deep breath, forcing her patience to the forefront. Because, yes, the fact that someone on the team could be leaking information needed to be dealt with, but this was a teenage girl she was dealing with. Patience was a must. "Proof?"

M'Gann nodded, averting her eyes. "We, um, heard and saw something… suspicious…"

Realization settled in, and Black Canary tilted her head. "And Robin is the one who pointed out the suspicious nature of things?" It _would_ explain why the other team members were being so distant with him. Surprisingly, though, the Martian shook her head.

"Robin…" her voice broke off, but she plowed forward, determined. "Robin _is_ the mole."

Now, _that_ certainly wasn't what the blonde superhero had been anticipating. Shock overtook her features and she simply stared at the teen for a few moments before regaining her wits. "Come again?"

M'Gann chose to do what she'd done for her teammates while out for pizza, she used her powers to show Black Canary exactly what she'd seen and heard. After watching it in full, even she had to admit that there might be some weight to the theory, as much as she hated to. After all, this was _Dick_ they were talking about. That kid was probably the most loyal person she'd ever met. Or at least, she'd thought he was.

"That _is_ rather troubling…" the blonde sighed. "Alright, I'll look into it. Try not to let it affect your missions in the meantime. One suspicious conversation does not a traitor make, after all. Maybe he has a good explanation; just keep an open mind, alright? Don't confront him yet, wait for me to take a look at all of the facts."

With that, the duo stood and made their way back to the training room in time to see Wally beat Conner. Neither one said a word as they made their way back to their initial positions. Black Canary frowned. Whether or not there was a mole, and whether or not it was Robin, something needed to be changed.

* * *

"I'm worried about the team." She got right down to business, not wasting even a moment. She'd gathered the mentors, other than Batman.

Immediately Flash looked up, concerned. "Why? What's going on?"

Black Canary could feel eyes on her as she found the right words. "The issue of having a mole has come back up, except this time they're _all_ focused on it being one person."

Several started speaking, but Aquaman kept quiet, examining the room's occupants. Finally, he noticed who was missing and he met her gaze. "They think it is Robin."

Silence fell as several looks of disbelief were shared. She nodded tiredly. "They have fairly good reason to believe it, too. Apparently, he's been having secret meetings with Talia al Ghul, discussing a 'package' that Batman doesn't know about. Plus, he gave different reasons for missing a group outing. He told his friends that Ra's al Ghul and his daughter stirred up trouble, but when I asked he said he'd been doing things for school. I know for a fact that what he told the team is a lie, as Batman hasn't even mentioned anything about Ra's or Talia in weeks."

Green Arrow frowned. "And you're absolutely certain that these 'secret meetings' have been happening?"

"Yes, Miss Martian showed me her memory of the one she and Superboy had overheard. Even I have to admit, it didn't exactly look good for Robin." The blonde woman sighed, massaging her temple. This was more than she wanted to deal with, but it had to be done.

Silence reigned once more, before the scarlet speedster broke it. "What're we going to tell Batman, if it's true?" He didn't want to believe it either, but Black Canary was a reasonable woman who didn't often jump to conclusions. If she was considering it, then they needed to at least give it a thought. He knew what Dick had done for Batman, he could see it. They all could. If the boy turned out to be a traitor, he wasn't sure how it would affect the dark knight.

"Nothing yet." All eyes turned towards Martian Manhunter as he spoke. "We should wait until we have full proof. I do not doubt that the team sees this as a true threat, but it is possible that some things were taken out of context. Until we know more, we keep a close eye on the situation, but do not take action just yet."

Murmurs of agreement were heard as they considered this idea. Apparently it was satisfactory, because soon enough they all dispersed, now with a lot on their minds.

* * *

"Are you sure we should be doing this?"

Artemis sighed before once again reassuring her friend. " _Yes_ , M'Gann. I don't care what BC says, it's been _months;_ if we have a mole, we need to take action. And that starts with making sure that we actually _do_ have a mole. You can sense his emotions, so if he starts getting suspicious, you'll know and you can turn back."

The Martian girl looked at her team. "I don't know… couldn't we just, I don't know, ask him?"

Artemis scoffed. "Yeah, 'cause he'd _tell_ us? If he wanted us to know, we already would. If he doesn't want us to know, then we _need_ to know. I mean, we don't even know his name! Who says it's actually Batman that's keeping him from telling us? The guy's never even said anything against it that we've seen."

Wally rolled his eyes. "This isn't about his secret identity. He _is_ entitled to one, you know. So what if he doesn't want to share his name? I'm more worried about him meeting with Talia al Ghul."

"Yeah, well, we all know that _you_ know his name." The archer snapped. "Who says that _you_ aren't a mole, too, huh? It's the perfect trick. You two and Kaldur were the only ones not under suspicion, and we have reason to believe Kaldur's not a mole. You two, however…"

"Oh, so now _I'm_ a mole? I seem to remember a time when _you_ were under suspicion to be the mole. Just because I know things you don't doesn't mean that I'm a mole! Sorry if Robin's actually my friend, I just don't want to believe that he's a mole!"

Artemis was about to reply, but Aqualad quickly intervened. "Enough, you two. We are here under the pretense of Robin being a possible mole, not to accuse one another of being moles. M'Gann, follow him."

The redhead nodded, before camouflaging herself and flying in search of the Boy Wonder. _I found him,_ _I'll keep you informed._

 _Good_ , responded Kaldur, his leader persona coming to the forefront. _If you see anything that could put you at risk, you are to leave immediately. Is that clear?_

 _Alright._ Several minutes passed uneventfully. Wally and Artemis held a glaring contest, Superboy remained silent, and Aqualad stayed alert. _I don't think that he's going to – oh, wait, there's Talia. I'm sending a visual now._

An image cleared in their minds. Atop a rooftop in what appeared to be central Gotham, their resident hacker stood, facing Talia al Ghul. The woman smiled as she noticed his presence. "Hello, Robin," she said.

"Talia." He nodded curtly. "The package?"

Her smile widened. "Prepped and ready to go. It'll be delivered to the location the following Tuesday, at midnight."

"Agent A and myself will be there, ready to receive." The words were steady and he didn't hesitate as he spoke.

"How do you think Batman will handle it?"

A mischievous grin lit up the teen's features. "He definitely won't see it coming, that's for sure." The two laughed.

Talia smirked, "Do tell me _all_ about it. It isn't _everyday_ that you get the chance to pull a sneak attack on him like this."

Robin nodded, a similar smirk gracing his lips. "You'll get all the details, no need to worry. Maybe I'll even film the fall of the detective."

The woman nodded. "That'd be nice. Anyway, see you around, Robin." With that, she made her way back to wherever it was she'd come from. Robin, however, seemed inclined to stay, whistling happily as he plopped himself down at the ledge.

"Alright, M'Gann," he called. "You can come out now. The whole team can, if they'd like."

* * *

By the time the others arrived at the rooftop, M'Gann and Robin were settled quite nicely. The Martian kept sneaking peeks at the younger boy, nervous. On the other hand, the teen seemed quite at ease, content to scan the streets of passing cars. He looked up as the others arrived. Sighing, he pushed himself to a standing position. "Why were you following me, Miss M?"

"I, well, uh, see, we thought that, um…" the girl fell silent, refusing to look at Robin.

"We know you're the mole." Artemis cut in, as blunt as ever.

Wally frowned to himself. "No, that doesn't make sense though…"

Conner turned to him, surprised. "You were on board earlier, why didn't you say anything sooner?"

The speedster shook his head. "I _was_ suspicious, but then when Robin was talking with Talia," he paused before plowing forward. "Agent A would _never_ go against Batman, so if he's involved, then I'm kind of thinking this might be a misunderstanding."

Robin laughed, nodding. "Yeah. I'm no mole. If I were a mole, trust me, you'd _know_ by now. I would've already made my move. I mean, I know the identities of the League, our team, and I helped design the security systems we make use of. I think I'd have plenty of Intel if I were a mole."

"So, my friend, what were all of those meetings with the daughter of Ra's al Ghul, if you do not mind me asking?"

"Yeah, and why did you say things like 'Batman won't suspect a thing,' and the 'fall of the detective'?" Artemis said, brows furrowing. "Talia even mentioned a sneak attack."

All eyes went to Robin, who laughed. "Yeah, I guess that does come off as incriminating… We're planning a _surprise_ for Batman. Kind of. In a way."

"What?"

The young teen looked around quickly before saying. "Look, you can't tell Batman I told you, but he has a kid. Talia and I were talking about getting the kid _to_ him."

The teens pondered this a moment before M'Gann spoke up. "Why would Talia be able to get her hands on Batman's kid?"

Robin frowned before shrugging. "Eh, I've told you this much… Talia is the kid's mother." They stared. First of all, Batman had a kid. A young kid, by the sounds of it. They'd always thought Robin to be an only child. And second of all, the kid's mother was a _villain._

"So…" said Artemis slowly. "Let me get this straight. You and Talia have been holding secret meetings and talking in code about _custody arrangements_?"

The Boy Wonder smiled and nodded. "Yeah, sounds like you've got it straight." He laughed at their expressions. "Come on guys, don't be like that. So it's more believable that I'm a _mole_ than that I'm trying to get Batman his kid?"

"Yeah," Wally laughed. "I guess it is more believable."

* * *

 _Wow, this was a monster of a story. Well, I say that, but I've seen longer lol. Yeah, here's the full prompt:_

 _During a mission Robin runs into Talia. He's by himself at the time, but they still talk in a sort of half-code because of all the things they can't say where people might over hear. And someone from the team does over hear and shares it with the rest of the team. They bring it to Black Canary and she tells them to keep a watch on Robin. Suddenly Talia is showing up all the time and her and Robin have very cryptic conversation. No one is sure what to tell Batman. Only Robin isn't a mole, he's just talking to Talia about Damian. Maybe he's inquiring about his kinda-brother or maybe she's arranging smuggling Damian away from her father and into Bruce's care. Either way a massive, justified, misunderstanding occurs._

 _So technically I changed a few things. Like the being on a mission part. And the Talia showing up all the time, I kind of think that happened in the background, like filler stuff. Either way I tried, with his excuse for missing pizza and all that. So yeah, enjoy! If you feel the need to leave a review, I promise I won't mind haha. Also, please let me know if you see any typos/mistakes or something._


End file.
